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James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Judges 4:17

JAEL DESTROYS SISERA (Judges 4:17-22)"Howbeit Sisera fled away on his feet to the tent of Heber the Kenite; for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite. And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said unto him, Turn in, my lord, turn in to me; fear not. And he turned in unto her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug. And he said unto her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water to drink; for I am thirsty. And she opened a bottle of milk; and gave him... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Judges 4:17-20

Judges 4:17-20. Sisera fled—to the tent of Jael— The common Arabs so far observe the modes of the east, as to have a separate apartment in their tents for their wives, made by letting down a curtain, or a carpet, upon occasion, from one of their pillars; though they are not so rigid as some of the eastern people in these matters. Dr. Pococke tells us, that his conductor, who was an Arab, led him two or three miles to his tent, where there was an encampment of Arabs; and that there he sat down... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Judges 4:16

16. But Barak pursued . . . unto Harosheth—Broken and routed, the main body of Sisera's army fled northward; others were forced into the Kishon and drowned (see on Judges 5:21). read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Judges 4:17

17, 18. Sisera fled . . . to the tent of Jael—According to the usages of nomadic people, the duty of receiving the stranger in the sheik's absence devolves on his wife, and the moment the stranger is admitted into his tent, his claim to be defended or concealed from his pursuers is established. read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Judges 4:12-16

When word reached Sisera that Barak had mustered Israelite troops at Mt. Tabor, he moved east across the Jezreel Valley with his 900 iron chariots and warriors to engage Barak.Structurally Judges 4:14 is the center of a chiasm. The chiastic structure of this chapter focuses the reader’s attention on Yahweh as Israel’s deliverer (cf. Judges 4:15; Exodus 15:3; 1 Samuel 8:20; 2 Samuel 5:24). This is the writer’s main point in the story. It is also one of the main emphases in the Song of Deborah in... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Judges 4:17-22

However Sisera, the Canaanite commander, fled east to save his skin. He sought refuge in the tent of "Ally" Heber. Little did he realize that even though Heber’s sentiments apparently favored the Canaanites, his wife Jael was a loyal worshipper of Yahweh. She was no compromiser, as her husband seems to have been. That Heber had established very friendly relations with the Canaanites seems clear since Sisera felt perfectly safe in Heber’s tent as he hid from the pursuing Israelites.It is... read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Judges 4:1-24

Deborah and BarakThis deliverance is described a second time in the early poem in Judges 5 (see on Judges 5:1). No other narrative describes more clearly the religious gathering of the clans, and the prowess of the hardy mountaineers when united. The plain of Esdraelon (see Intro. § 5) is one of the famous battle-fields of history. It drives like a wedge from the coast within 10m. of the Jordan; but it is dominated by hills on all sides, and is almost closed by them at its western end. In... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Judges 4:16

(16) There was not a man left.—The massacre in all battles in which the fugitives have to escape over a river and contend with a storm is always specially fatal. The memory of this terrible carnage was preserved for years, together with the circumstance that the soil was enriched by the dead bodies (Psalms 83:10). Similarly at Waterloo, the year after the battle a blaze of crimson poppies burst out over the plain, and the harvests of the subsequent years were specially rich.“The earth is... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Judges 4:17

(17) Fled away on his feet to the tent of Jael.—In a different direction from that taken by his army, which fled towards Harosheth (Kimchi). The expression is probably used by anticipation. He could hardly have meant to fly to Jael rather than to Heber, until Jael came to meet him, unless there are circumstances unknown to us. Women had separate tents (Genesis 18:6), and these were regarded as inviolably secure. He thought that there he would lie unsuspected till the pursuers passed (comp.... read more

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